


Christmas at the Nurse's

by mysongsknowhatyoudidinthedark



Series: Meeting Your Boyfriend's Family [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Christmas Party, Daddy Issues, Family Issues, M/M, Meet the Family, Meeting the Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 04:56:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9162979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysongsknowhatyoudidinthedark/pseuds/mysongsknowhatyoudidinthedark
Summary: Dex thinks he can handle a few hours of the annual Nurse Christmas/nondenominational winter holiday party. If Nursey can deal with the Poindexters during Easter and coming out and that whole disaster, then Dex can deal with this. What he doesn't expect is Nursey's biological dad, and that is a whole new box of issues to open.





	

Dex finally meets Nursey’s family during Christmas break. There’s Hannah and Malaya, which of course, Dex knew about. But then there’s Izzy, his sister, and Malik, Nursey’s biological dad, and grandmas and grandpas. Dex thought his Irish Catholic family was huge (Nursey only saw his immediate family, none of his extended family, and that’s a lot bigger), but he couldn’t believe it when he walked into the Nurse household.

 

Nursey drags him inside and shows him off to everyone like he’s a trophy--”Look, it’s my boyfriend! Real, live boyfriend! He agreed to it and everything!”

 

The first people they greet are Nursey’s moms, who give both him and Dex a big, warm hug. They remind Dex to call them by their first names because they’re cool moms (besides the fact that having two Mrs. Nurses would be incredibly confusing for both of them, and Dex doesn’t think he’s quite ready to be calling them “Mom” quite yet).

 

Next is Izzy Nurse. Immediately Dex notices the similarities between the two siblings: same nose, same complexion, same build of the body. She’s standing next to her fiance, Adam, and wearing a cozy winter sweater and long, flowing skirt with black boots and an intricately designed headscarf, and wow, Dex is gay, but she’s a sight to behold. Dex almost thinks that maybe he doesn’t like boys; he just likes the Nurses. He’s Nursesexual (Nursey: “Dex, what the fuck”).

 

Izzy scoffs at him and shakes her head. “Derek, you clearly have a type.”

 

“And that is?” Nursey raises an eyebrow at her.

 

“Pasty white boys.”

 

Dex laughs.

 

“Pasty white boys with a sense of humor,” she clarifies. “The other ones didn’t laugh at that joke. He’s a keeper.”

 

Nursey rolls his eyes and takes Dex away. “She makes that joke every time I bring a boy home. I’ve heard it at least two times--I thought she was done with it, but I guess not.”

 

Dex eyes him with a smirk on his face. “You like pasty white boys, Nurse?”

 

“Just because my last two boyfriends were white does not mean that that’s my type.”

 

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind. I’m glad that out of all the pasty white boys on our team, you chose me. It really makes a boy swoon.”

 

“Shut the fuck up. You can be a real asshole sometimes.” He laughs and grabs Dex’s hand. His face falls suddenly as he opens his mouth to speak. “Let’s meet my dad, who I talk to once a year because my grandmother on his side of the family wants to know her grandkids.”

 

Dex meets Malik, a tall, slender man with skin just like Nursey’s. Unlike Nursey, his hair is an even darker shade of black (Dex didn’t know that was possible) and straight and kept short. To Dex, it looks like he’s only there for Nursey’s and Izzy’s sakes, like his ex-wife’s Christmas party was the last place he wanted to be. Which, you know, is understandable.

 

Dex shakes his hand. “What’s your name?” Malik asks.

 

“Dex--er, William. Will.”

 

Nursey responds to his father’s raised eyebrow with, “Hockey nicknames.”

 

“He’s your friend?”

 

“Yessir,” Dex answers, fidgeting with his clothes. He takes Nursey’s hand just to prove a point, but he immediately notices how clammy his own hands are. He has absolutely no idea what to do.

 

“Boyfriend, actually,” Nursey corrects. “Will is my boyfriend.”

 

Malik sighs. “I guess this is not just a phase. Your mother told me you--how did she put it--hooked up with him?”

 

Dex turns bright red. “Yeah, I mean. We’re together. People who are together have a tendency to ‘hook up,’” Nursey explains. “I gotta go say hi to Jaddati.”

 

Malik simply gives him a curt nod, and Nursey drags Dex away. Nursey can feel the veins in his neck throbbing, so he takes a deep breath before continuing on. Dex stops him and takes him to the bathroom before Nursey can even think about speaking to another relative.

 

“Are you okay?” Dex asks.

 

“Fine. It’s chill or whatever. I don’t care what he thinks.”

 

“You clearly do,” he whispers, slowly grabbing Nursey’s hand and squeezing it. “Hey, you don’t have to pretend with me. I told you. We’re in this together, yeah?”

 

Nursey sighs in contempt. “He doesn’t get it. He thinks it’s a phase, and I’ll grow out of it, and I’ll find a nice wife. Like Izzy and her fiance. Perfect Izzy with the fiance and surgeon salary, and oh, she wears a hijab and goes to the mosque with her Muslim fiance, why don’t you Derek--”

 

“Do your moms care?”

 

“No, they literally couldn’t give a shit what I believe. Mom is Muslim, and Mama is Catholic, so it really doesn’t make a difference to them. It’s, like, whatever to them. Go to a mosque, or go to a church, or don’t go at all, but it doesn’t matter to them. It does to my dad, I guess.”

 

“Babe, you only see him once or twice a year.”

 

“Yeah, but him being the only guy seriously fucks with me,” he explains. “Whatever, I wanted to introduce you to my grandma. She’s on his side of the family, but she’s pretty alright all things considered--”

 

Dex plants his hand on Nursey’s shoulder and rubs it slowly. “You know I support you no matter what, right?”

 

Nursey practically melts into his touch. “Yeah, but you’re you. Of course you’re going to support me. It’s not, like, I don’t appreciate it or whatever. But it’s my dad, you know?”

 

“Yeah, I get it.” Dex nods.

 

“And--I dunno--I don’t want our kids to go through the same thing as--” Nursey stops himself. 

 

He’d honestly rather die on the spot than try to explain himself.  _ Our _ kids. He said  _ our _ kids. Like they’d already had this conversation about the future and they knew for a fact they were getting married, and oh my God, Nursey’s so stupid. A fucking idiot. Jesus Christ, what the fuck’s wrong with him--

 

Dex pulls him out of his thoughts. “Our kids?”

 

“I mean. I dunno. Why I said that. That’s super weird. Like we’ve been together  _ officially _ seven months, and yeah, we’ve known each other a year longer than that, but that’s super duper weird, babe. I just--”

 

“No, no, I, um.” Dex pauses and takes a deep breath. “Do you picture yourself with me when you’re older? Like married with kids and a nine to five job?”

 

Nursey can feel his face heating up, and he’s thanking his lucky stars that he doesn’t have Dex’s complexion with an uncanny knack for turning a brilliant scarlet red whenever he’s embarrassed. “Well, I mean. Yeah. Maybe not a nine to five job, but yeah.”

 

Dex’s mouth is gaping. “ _ Oh _ .”

 

Before Nursey can even comprehend what’s going on, Dex has his lips pressed to Nursey’s. Nursey’s praying that this is a positive reaction to the fact that Dex now knows that if it were up to him, they’d be married and trying to have kids and dreamily living together in Manhattan or Maine or Boston or wherever because he honestly doesn’t care as long as he’s got Dex.

 

This time, when they’re kissing, Dex isn’t soft or gentle, but he’s also not hungry and trying to get to the next step. They’re just happily making out in the downstairs bathroom of his moms’ New York brownstone.

 

That is, until someone opens the door because someone  ~~ Nursey ~~ forgot to lock it.

 

“Oh God, I’m so sorry!” they shriek, except everything is in Filipino, and Dex honestly hasn’t a clue what they said.

 

Nursey opens the door to Malaya. “Mama, it’s okay.”

 

She shakes her head before continuing in English. “Honey, this is a family gathering. I know you love him, but please mingle instead of making out with your boyfriend,” she chastises him. To Nursey, it always seems to feel much more like a work gathering, no matter how much she says it’s a family Christmas/nondenominational winter holiday party. “Malik’s gonna be leaving soon. He’s got a flight to catch, and you know how airport security can be.”

 

“Trust me, it happens to me, too, Mama.” Nursey rolls his eyes and removes his hands from Dex’s collar, which he honestly doesn’t ever remember grabbing.

 

She rests a hand on Dex’s shoulder. “William, one of my dear friends--Alex Coleback--just arrived, and he was a computer science major, just like you. You have to meet him. I’m sure he’ll give you great pointers.”

 

Dex mouths “I’m sorry” as Malaya drags him away from Nursey.

 

Nursey heads to the front of the house, alone, and walks up to his father. Izzy’s saying her goodbyes, and he’s firmly shaking hands with Adam and Nursey knows he’s gotta end this evening well otherwise he’ll never find closure until next year, and he doesn’t know if he can wait that long.

 

“Derek, where’s your friend?” Malik asks.

 

“Malaya is showing him off to one of her friends. He  _ is _ the token white kid at this party, after all.” The delivery is dry, and Malik doesn’t laugh, but it doesn’t matter. He’s trying to be civil. He’s trying not to fuck this up.

 

Malik sighs as he puts on his coat and drapes his scarf around his neck. “Son, I know your mothers love you a great deal, but sometimes I wonder.”

 

“Wonder what?”

 

“If leaving you with them was the right choice.” He shakes his head. “I have to catch a flight back to Chicago. My wife and your half-sister want me back for New Year’s, and my boss apparently does, too.”

 

“Dad, I know you don’t like it, but I love him a lot.”

 

Malik grimaces, but he doesn’t seem surprised. Despite the fact that they’ve only seen each other once a year since Nursey was three when his parents got divorced, his father obviously doesn’t like it, but he isn’t shocked at all. “I know.”

 

“If I’m good enough for him, I think I’d like to marry him someday.” Because he’s honestly so far gone on this boy it’s not even funny.

 

Malik nods, avoiding eye contact entirely as he breathes out into the cold New York air. “Invite me to the wedding, I guess.”

 

Nursey watches as his dad hops into a taxi and drives away. 

 

As soon as he turns around, Dex is already there with narrowed eyes. “Your mother’s friend would not shut the fuck up, oh my God--” He pauses, his face falling. “Nursey, baby, you okay?”

 

Nursey’s lip quivers. Everything in him is screaming to tell Dex everything, but he can’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he elects to wrap his arms tightly around his boyfriend, and so Dex returns the favor.

 

Afterward, the two of them get the biggest glasses of champagne they can find, and Dex meets Nursey’s Lola and Lolo and his Nanna and Papa and his Jaddati before going on to his aunts and uncles and cousins. It’s a bit overwhelming, but the alcohol makes it slightly bearable.

 

As soon as the party's over, Dex and Nursey head up to Nursey’s childhood room. Nursey clearly had a punk phase as a teenager, and he never bothered to get rid of the posters and decorations, because Brendon Urie and Patrick Stump and a bunch of people Dex hasn’t even heard of seem to stare at them as soon as they enter the room.

 

“Sorry,” Nursey chuckles nervously. He knows Dex’s wide eyes are over the massive amounts of skinny white boys with black eyeliner on his walls. “This was before I got into good music.”

 

“Like your indie garbage?” Dex’s eyes crinkle, and he face breaks into a shit-eating grin.

 

“Fuck off.” But Nursey’s laughing because he knows for a fact that Dex listened to one of the playlists Nursey made for him at least four times, and it was filled with “indie garbage” artists as Dex calls it.

 

Nursey grabs at his collar and pulls him in for a kiss. It starts off soft and slow, but then it turns into what was going on in the bathroom earlier that day, and then, Dex is pawing at Nursey’s buttons and starts to unbutton the top before Nursey stops them both.

 

“Babe, we can’t.” His lips are just barely inches from Dex’s, and they’re dangling in between kissing and not kissing, and Nursey can feel Dex’s breath on his face, but he’s trying to pull back.

 

Dex frowns. “Why not?”

 

“I’m not having sex in my moms’ house.”

 

“Whatever. You’re no fun.” Dex sticks out his tongue, and Nursey bites Dex’s lip in response. “Now you’re just tempting me.”

 

Nursey lets out a small laugh, but it sounds more like heavy breathing out of his nostrils. “Let’s go to bed.”

 

Dex nods, and they end up asleep in each other’s arms.

 

When they get back to the Haus, everyone’s bitching about how shitty spending time with their family was. 

 

Bitty had to lie about his relationship status (“No, sir, I do not have a boyfriend, and I’m not one of those homosexuals, I promise you”), Ransom had to try to not have a mental breakdown every time someone even mentioned school (“I thought finals were done, but no! School continues to haunt me!”), Chowder had to spend the whole break without Farmer (and, he guesses, his parents kept asking about his future, which wasn’t fun), and Holster nearly lost it because he had to come out to his parents for the third time (“I told them I was bisexual my junior year of high school, like how hard is it for them to remember?”). But whatever.

 

They’re all on the God-awful couch watching one of Jack’s games, and everyone’s chirping Bitty, and Chowder’s trying to contain himself because it’s the Falconers against the Sharks and he doesn’t know who to root for, and Nursey’s is all but sitting on Dex’s lap. But they’re all figuring the exact same thing: family can be shitty, but friends can be pretty great sometimes.

**Author's Note:**

> To my knowledge (and the internet) the term for grandmother in Arabic is "Jaddati" but please correct me if I'm wrong, as I most definitely know less than you on the Arabic language (that is to say, I know absolutely nothing). And Nursey can speak Filipino fluently, but he only speaks Arabic a little because he so rarely sees his dad's side of the family (and Dex is unnervingly into it he absolutely does not have a language kink (except he does so pls kinkshame this boy))
> 
> Dex and Nursey get engaged the December after their senior year of college bc they're so gone on each other oh my god and they have so many kids and they're so happy and Izzy and Connor meet at the wedding and they become best friends bc they both love chirping their brothers
> 
> Also if you think what happens to Holster is something that would never happen irl just know that my friend came out to her mom three times and her mom still doesn't remember
> 
> Anyway this is probably it I'm done with this fic and this storyline but thanks for reading :)


End file.
